Houston, TX 9-09-08

[TimothyBFan]

Steph--are you out there? Don't let Ike get you, get to Dallas quickly!! Will awaits your arrival!!

[rickmullen]

I was sure sorry to hear about all those people getting their show
postponed in Houston on Thursday. It can add up to quite a bit
of money lost when you consider travel (air fare or gas in your car),
hotel room, meals, etc. You don't get a refund on all that. When you
add in the price of your ticket and $40 T-shirts, going to a concert
can be quite expensive these days. Trust me, I know.

Let's hope most of those people can make the return trip for the make-up
date. But you know some of them won't be able to.

Rick

[sodascouts]

Very true, Rick - but on the other side of that, there are people who were evacuating or simply felt it was unsafe to travel last night, and those people would have missed the show and lost THEIR money. It's a no-win situation, but I think in this case, the band was putting safety first - you can't blame them for that. I'm still very sorry for Steph, though.

[StephUK]

I have to take your word for this about the shirt being partially undone and pulled out. It seems very out of character, however. Thanks for the review.

The proof is here!!




More later

Steph

[Freypower]

Wow, Steph. Thank you. I see that one is from Houston. I'm glad you had a good time despite the second Houston show being cancelled.

[glenneaglesfan]

Goodness me, untucked shirt!

So glad to hear that you're back safely, Steph, and that you've had a fabulous time. I'm looking forward to your reviews!

[Brooke]

Good to hear from you Steph! Wonderful picture of Glenn, too.

The camera Nazis (Rick's term) were out in St. Louis, too.

Can't wait to read your reviews.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

It's great to hear from you, Steph. I hope you had a wonderful trip in spite of Hurricane Ike. Glad you are back at home resting up. How awesome that you had front row center seats at one of the shows. I can't wait to hear more. I'm glad to hear that Will was in fine form and if that incredible picture of Glenn is any indication of the other pics you got, my heart won't be able to take it.

[sodascouts]

So glad to hear from you today Steph! When I saw there were new posts in this thread, I hoped it was you. Great photo! Looking forward to your review.

[StephUK]

At last, here are my thoughts & experiences from the Houston show & the 2 Dallas shows.

EAGLES SHOW, HOUSTON - 9 SEPTEMBER 2008
My Texan friend(who I was staying with) drove us to the Toyota Center for 6.00pm to attend the ILAA pre-show party.
We won a T-shirt in the raffle(which my friend let me keep). Chatted to some friendly fans at the party. It’s always great to hear about other fans’ Eagles experiences.

Our seats were in the centre section, row 5, just right of the middle(between Glenn & Joe – and ideal for ‘Will Hollis spotting’!!)
Just like the O2 show in London, I was very excited as I saw the support musicians come onto the stage – especially when I saw Will walk to his keyboard and sit down. Then the Eagles came onto the stage & the noise from the crowd increased in anticipation (well, from those who were near enough to see them on the darkened stage).
Straight into How Long and loud cheering & applause. Then into Busy Being Fabulous.

Glenn welcomed us to the ‘Eagles Assisted Living Tour’............’We are the Eagles; the band that refuse to die’.

The guys seemed to be in good spirits and Glenn made a few rehearsed jokes as always!
Don had a beard which was white & I didn’t think it did him any favours (I think it made him look old).
Glenn has put on a pound or two – that’s an observation not a criticism.

I’ve got used to seeing the guys in suits now, and I don’t mind that they’re not in jeans etc,.
(My darling Will looks very smart & attractive in his suit).

The audience on the floor were very into the show & were standing up dancing & singing for Hotel California, Boys of Summer, In the City & The Long Run.
After the break came the ‘sitting down bit’. I especially love Waiting in the Weeds, such emotive lyrics & Will plays some beautiful piano in this song. The last ‘sitting down’ song is another of my personal favourites....Take it to the Limit.

Long Road out of Eden – what can I say. I love this song & it sounds amazing in a large arena.

Now we’re into the faster songs & the crowd is on its feet BIG TIME. It was so hot - the guys take their jackets off & Glenn pulls his shirt out(presumably to get some cool air!) Despite the heat, Will kept his jacket on!(sadly, not even a teasing flash of bare arms tonight).

After Life in the Fast Lanethe band left the stage. We saw the techies set up the mike with the tube for Joe, ready for Rocky Mountain Way, but after a little while the band return & go straight into Take it Easy, followed by Desperado. So only one encore tonight.

My friend said she had heard Glenn complaining about how hot it was, so that might be why we didn’t get the 2 encores.

During the show I waved to all of the guys from you all here at the board – and at the end I blew them some kisses too.


SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
1. Just being there
2. Witchy Woman – great that they are doing this one again
3. Lyin’ eyes – one of my all-time favourites
4. Will’s piano on Waiting in the Weeds
5. Take it to the Limit
6. Will’s smile during the band intros – Will doesn’t seem to smile while he’s playing....he has his serious, concentrating face on then
7. Rockin’ with Joe

I was able to take some photos at this show, without being told not to by security. There did seems to be a lot of bright, white lights on the stage which have played havoc with my photos, so I had to edit them a bit.

Here's some to tempt you - you can view the rest at:-

http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/c...how/?start=all









As the Houston show on 11 September was cancelled, we travelled up to Dallas that evening. Hurricane Ike was on it’s way & people were being advised to evacuate Galveston island, so we thought we’d go up to Dallas a day earlier than planned to avoid the evacuation traffic. As it was we were in traffic queues just north of Houston & it took us ages to get onto the Freeway for Dallas.


EAGLES SHOW, DALLAS– 13 SEPTEMBER 2008

We arrived at the American Airlines Center just before 6.00pm. While we were outside waiting for our ILAA host it started to pour with rain...so we all got a bit soggy (I thought I was getting away from rain when I went to Texas!)

Met more friendly Eagles fans at the pre-show party – everybody in Texas was really friendly to me. As soon as they heard my accent they all wanted to know what part of England I came from & to chat to me; and they all welcomed me to Texas.
Didn’t win anything in the raffle tonight, but bought lots of Eagles goodies...T-shirts, hats, mugs etc

Our seats were row D (4th) middle section, about in the middle of the stage(Once again fine for ‘Will Hollis spotting’).

Once again the adrenalin was rushing through my veins as the lights dimmed & the supporting musicians came onto the stage, followed by the band...............and we were off again!

Tonight Glenn welcomed us & said ‘check your tickets.....this is the Eagles Assisted Living Tour...and we are the Eagles, the band that refuse to die’

During the band intros the crowd went wild for Don, as expected. He stood up behind his drums & took the applause, bowing & smiling. I liked the musical ‘extras’ played by the supporting musicians as Don & Glenn were introduced. Also we sang a bit of ‘Tempted’ when Timothy mentioned that Paul Carrack had co-written Love will keep us Alive.

The audience was even more lively than the Houston crowd. I sang, danced & generally enjoyed myself thoroughly.
Timothy & Glenn were really engaging with the audience – and Joe was on fine form. Plenty of smiles & laughter. Timothy was waving both hands & clapping during All she wants to do is Dance.

Luckily we got the 2 encores tonight.

A fine performance.


SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
1. Don had shaved off the beard
2. Joe’s totally OTT performance of Life’s been Good
3. Will Hollis (and everything he does!)
4. Getting the 2nd encore

Unfortunately I was told off by a security lady for taking photos – I knew I was pushing my luck as they had put a flyer on each seat saying that recording & photography was not allowed. So I only got a few photos, which I've posted here.







EAGLES SHOW, DALLAS – 14 SEPTEMBER 2008

Arrived at the American Airlines Center in sunshine tonight instead of rain.
Another ILAA pre-show party. More friendly Eagles fans to chat to. Didn’t win anything in the raffle.

Our seats tonight.....FRONT ROW , MIDDLE STAGE.

More adrenalin, more singing, more dancing.

Another fantastic show. Lively audience. Support band on form. Glenn, Don, Timmy & Joe giving it their all. Even more crazy applause for Don tonight. I thought it was never going to end.

MY VERY SPECIAL MOMENT
At the end of Life in the Fast Line, I caught Will’s eye, so I mouthed ‘Hi Will’ and waved to him. He waved back & smiled at me. It was already a great night but that made it even better.

I was sorry this was to be my last show, but I left the center feeling so lucky to have been able to see the Eagles in the US. It was well worth going for. I will never forget it. If I get the chance to do it again I won’t hesitate.

I’m hoping they will come back to the UK & Europe next year. I’ll be saving up so that I can get to see as many shows as possible.

EAGLES, I LOVE YOU.

Love
Steph